Omega nebula

Database links to Omega Nebula

Emission nebula
Data from the Omega Nebula

Taken with the VLT Survey Telescope
AladinLite
Constellation	Sagittarius
Position equinox : J2000.0 , epoch : J2000.0
Right ascension	18 ^h 20 ^m 26 ^s
declination	−16 ° 10.6 ′
Appearance
Apparent brightness (visual)	6.0 likes
Apparent brightness (B-band)	6.69 likes
Angular expansion	20/15
Ionizing source
Physical data
Affiliation	Milky Way
Redshift	0.000030
Radial velocity	9 km / s
distance	5000–6000 ly (1500–1800 pc )
Dimensions	800 M _☉
diameter	40 ly
history
discovery	J.-P. de Chéseaux
Date of discovery	1745
Catalog names
NGC 6618 • M 17 • OCISM 9 • W 38

The Omega Nebula (also called Messier 17 or NGC 6618 , rarely also Swan Nebula or Horseshoe Nebula ) is an emission nebula in the northern part of the constellation Sagittarius . It has an apparent magnitude of +6.00 mag and a diameter of 15 ′.

The radiation from the young stars inside makes it glow and appears in a red to pink color. It is located in the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way, a very nebulous star formation region , and extends over 15 light years in the visible range. The accumulation of matter, on the other hand, extends much further over a diameter of 40 light years. Stars are still forming in this H-II region , which is also shown by the 35 young stars that are hidden as open star clusters in the nebula. The nebula is about 800 solar masses. M17 can be easily found in the sky and is located near the Eagle Nebula (M16).